L’Osteria del Vignaiolo
Telephone: 017350335

A popular place with the locals of the Langhe. Many people travel from the surrounding towns and villages to eat here, and with good reason.

Luciano Marengo is in charge of the kitchens, and Luciano serves up in great style all the great favorites of the Piedmont, with a few delicate touches of his own.

It is everything I enjoy in a restaurant—great food, a good atmosphere, and not at all pretentious. Good prices as well; a four-course menu will cost around 40 euros a head.

L’Osteria del Vignaiolo is located in the little village of Santa Maria, very near La Morra, and looks out across the magnificent valleys of the Piedmont to the alpine peaks in the distance. Try to sit outside on the terrace in the summer and enjoy to the fullest the wonderful setting.

Menus change here often and depend entirely on the seasons. I recommend you start with a mix of anitipasti and then try the agnolotti del plin with butter and sage. Follow up with the roast done in Piedmont style. Try the semifreddo al torrone for dessert; it is a Piedmont specialty, and few places make it better.

One thing I particularly love about this restaurant is that Luciano doesn't try to mess too much with perfection. What I mean is that the cuisine of Piedmont is one of the world's best cuisines, so why try to fix that? When people do try to mess with it and "modernize" it, it often results in them messing up dishes that have undergone centuries of taste perfection before arriving on your plate. Luciano thankfully doesn't do that; he only adds a little twist here and there—not enough to mess things up and you'll get to try the original dishes that have stood the test of time.

Wines are all local and excellent. Some of the wines on the menu aren’t available commercially outside of Italy, but, they are always of superb quality. Even the house wines from a local, unnamed vineyard nearby are superb. Ask them to recommend the appropriate wine based on what you order; they are fantastic at wine pairing. I guess that the fact that they have been eating the same dishes and drinking the same wines for centuries has given them ample time to get it right.

L’Osteria del Vignaiolo is without a doubt one of my favorite Piedmont restaurants. If you are in the Langhe area, it should not be missed.

For my selection of great places nearby to stay - click here.